Restart
by OnyxHarmony
Summary: The void. The restart void? Sora never knew what to call it anymore. Why did he end up here? Why did he never really die? Who kept bringing him back? (( This is a KH3 oneshot for a concept that's been stuck in my mind since I got the game. ))


Sora was dying.

Again.

He could feel it. The faint sound of his own heartbeat dully thudding in his ears.

This place was an endless black void that stole his consciousness every time.

Sora always swore he could hear someone, and this time was no different. He could hear muffled voices inside the void.

"_Will he be alright this time? Will we be ripped back into the waking world with him?"_

It was a voice that sounded much like the next one that spoke, yet he knew the two were different.

"_I'm not sure. That was a pretty nasty fight. Can you believe the air he got when he got smacked?"_

"_Ve_, that's so distasteful...but you're right."_

A snicker came from the first voice.

"_Oh be quiet, R_."_

"_What do we do?"_

"_We pull him out...if we can."_

If they could?

Who was talking?

Sora wished he could open his eyes. He wished he could speak. Why did things reset, time and time again? Everything had been...normal before they built that raft a long time ago. He could see it in his mind. The sun, the trees, Kairi, Riku...they'd all been just a couple of kids, eager to explore.

Now where were they?

Strewn across worlds, trying to find the lights...and free someone Sora had never met, but felt connected to.

Destiny Islands...home.

That word.

Home.

What did it mean anymore?

He'd been away for so long.

Everywhere, and yet it felt like nowhere.

Endless worlds and people he'd met.

Friends.

Experiences.

All things he treasured, yet he wondered what it would be like to just...let go.

Would it really be so bad?

Would he even die?

Or would it all just...restart?

_"R_, he's drifting-"_

"_...Let him rest, Ve_."_

"_If he does for too long, we'll-"_

"_I know. He deserves a minute to himself. I'll keep watch."_

"_You'll keep watch? Where the heck would I go! We're stuck in here."_

"_Alright, we'll both keep watch."_

Why was it taking so long to come back?

Sora felt nothing.

Was this it? The last time?

"_R_…"_

A warning. It was muffled, but he could hear the tone.

"_I know, Ve_."_

"_...While we're watching and letting him rest..can I ask you something, R_?"_

"_Of course. What is it?"_

"_The people you knew. The ones before...the void. Do you think they're alive? Do you remember them?"_

There was a pause in the muffling. A silence that seemed somber, almost...painful.

"_I...yeah. Sort of. I remember Ax_, but...there's someone I can't remember."_

"_I…"_

"_What is it, Ve_?"_

The voice cracked before it spoke, a shaky breath leaving it. As though it were almost crying.

"_It's...been a long time. Since I've seen them...since we were under the same sky. Since the...mess. I don't know where they are. I don't know if they're alive. If things are okay. If...If they even know who I am-"_

"_How long have you been here, Ve_?"_

"_Since he was a new heart. I remember...the pain. Then a light. I could hear the waves...he took me in and healed me. Then I...left for a while, and met him again...at the end. I told him I wanted to rest for a little while."_

"_Has it been that long? Do you remember what caused you to come back?"_

"_Yeah...I remember, R_. You know...it's been so long, I just...I stopped blaming him. I forgive him."_

"_Who?"_

"_V..." _The voice paused, as if trying to remember. _"Van_."_

"_Do you think you'll ever see them all again? Him and the others?"_

"_Yeah. I do. That fight wasn't over."_

"_Do you think it will ever be, Ve_?"_

"_Not as long as people are lost. Like Van_."_

"_What about him?"_

"_He was ripped into existence and ordered around. I don't...think he knew how to handle it. That's why the Unv_ existed."_

Unv_?

What was that? Sora had heard that word clearly, yet it felt as though he knew what it was without really knowing.

Just like...he knew Hayner, Pence and Olette.

He remembered crying at the train station in Twilight Town years ago.

Yet he didn't know why he was sad.

Friends that weren't his, a home that he'd never slept in but could vaguely remember the layout of the bedroom.

And a beautiful sky. Night sky shining so brightly. Cool grass against his skin, and the familiar laugh of a face he couldn't see.

She was blue.

Blue, Orange and Green.

A warm feeling spread through Sora's chest.

It felt like home.

Family.

It wasn't his.

He felt pain in his chest, but it felt like it was coming from deeper inside.

Sora heard a muffled sob coming from the void.

"_It...hurts. Thinking about the way things used to be. Thinking about them. I can barely remember their faces. Aq_ and Te_."_

"_What happened to them?"_

"_I...barely remember. Terra was...fighting someone on a cliff…" _Uncertainty laced his voice, scared to speak lest painful memories surface and pain both him and Sora. _"I think I...we...attacked Aq-" _The voice grunted in pain, a scream building in his throat.

_We._

**We.**

_**We are one.**_

"_Ve_,...Ve_! It's alright. You're not there, you're not wherever you think you are-"_

"_It hurts…"_

"_I know, take a minute to try and relax."_

A memory of golden eyes flashed into Sora's mind-another memory that wasn't his.

"_I forgive him but I can't...can't fuse with him again...-" _The voice shook, trying to pull himself back together.

"_Venty-Wenty...don't you like spending time with me?"_

That voice.

"_Where..where is he? R_, do you hear him?"_

"_I hear something."_

"_Are you guys gonna let him keep floating there? There's things to do, worlds to see, grand schemes to finish. He's all part of it."_

"_Why do you care, Van_?"_

"_If he dies, no one will be free. Not even me."_

"_...You want to be free?"_

"_Not important right now. There are other people to free and I can't stay here long. Too much...light, Ve_."_

"_Are you here to help?"_

"_He's been floating too long. Any longer and he'll vanish. His heart, and the two of yours...gone. I don't know your name, other heart...but I'm sure you don't want to die."_

Silence.

"_We should get him. While we still can. It'll take all of us."_

"_Are you sure, Van_?"_

"_Yes...but I won't help any further."_

"_On three?"_

"_Why wait until three, R_?"_

"_It just seemed-"_

"_While you two are discussing technicalities, he's slipping away."_

"_Right. C'mon, Ve_."_

"_Together, R_."_

"_Would you two stop being so chummy and help me pull him out already?"_

All three reached for Sora, zooming down into the void to grab him.

Sora felt a warmth envelop his body. A bright light flashed, and soon he could hear them again. Donald and Goofy, fighting back the heartless. Opening his eyes when he was nudged, he instinctively summoned his keyblade and struck the attacking heartless down. He'd been given another chance.

A restart.


End file.
